Dryer rack



April 25, 1961 H. BRADLEY 2,981,418

DRYER RACK Filed Dec. 8, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 @w N) NE '-'QT-'O INVENTOR HAAN-D Beam-sv BY fvaMl/Wzw- April 25, 1961 H. BRADLEY 2,981,418

' DRYER RACK y Filed Deo. 8, 1958 l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTon H/-moLD BR/wLEY 1 ATTORNEY @nite This invention relates to a dryer rack for use indoors and more particularly to a clothes dryer rack adapted to be positioned between a wall and a rigid supporting member spaced from the wall.

All are familiar with the almostY universal custom of using the bath room as a place to dry clothes, especially womens clothes. This practice has become even more prevalent with the advent of wash-and-wear and drip-dry fabrics made from 'synthetic yarns. The favorite place for drying clothes is over the bath tub and the favorite dryer rack is the curtain rod for a combined shower and tub or the curtain rod for a stall shower. Yet these rods or other rigid members adapted for supporting clothes, or clothes hangers, have the great disadvantage that the water dripping from the wet clothes drips, at least partially, onto the floor.

A number of racks have been suggested for positiona clothes dryer rack which is inexpensive, easy to con-v struct, easy to install, easy to dismount, and is easily and conveniently stored. f

It is another object of this invention to provide a dryer rack which will accommodate a plentiful assortment of Wet wearing apparel and yet will conne the dripping water to the bath tub, a shower stall, or the like.

It is a lspecial object of this invention to provide `a dryer rack which can be mounted in, or dismounted from, a variety of bath tub or independent shower stalls in seconds without mechanical aptitude and yet will remain firmly in place while mounted.

It is another special object of this invention to provide a dryer rack which is readily accessible to persons of average height.

It is yet another special object of this invention to provide a clothes rack which can be easily stored in a minimum of space in a convenient location.

Other advantages of the invention will be apparent from the more detailed description which follows.

The invention will be further understood from the accompanying drawings showing clothes dryers embodying the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective View of a clothes rack embodying my invention and installed on a tub shower and vready for use.

Fig. 2 is a perspective fragmentary viewof another embodiment of my invention showing the clothes rack as it is being positioned on a supporting member.

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Fig. 3 is an elevational fragmentary view of a clothes rack embodying the invention showing the manner in which it can be stored on a curtain rod.

Fig. 4 is a perspective fragmentary view of another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment of my clothes rack installed on a tub shower and ready for use.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to Fig. l, 10 generally designates a clothes rack mounted on a shower curtain rod 11 and wedged against a wall 12 of a bath room. The rack 10 comprises a unitary rigid rectilinear rod 13 having depending fingers 14 for engagement with rod 11, or other rigid member, and a second rigid rectilinear rod 15 flexibly suspended `from rod 13, between fingers 14 and the wall, by chains 16. Flexible chains 16, due to gravity, hang vertically, permit collapsing of rack '10 when not in use, and are preferably adjustable so that the bottom rod may be variably positioned to accommodate people of different heights. As shown, each end of the rods, 13 and 1'5 and the fingers 14, are provided with protective plastic tips 17 which protect walls when the rods are made of metal such as aluminum. In addition, plastic material such as a synthetic resin, or a natural or synthetic rubber, on the wall-end of rod 13 serves to frictionally engage wall 12.

Suitable inert plastics are available and may be obtained in appropriate colors so as to add beauty as well as increased utility. Also rod 13 is twisted at 26 so that the end remote from the walls has the plane of its wider dimension perpendicular to the plane of the end adjacent to the wall and has its extreme end remote from the wall bent in an arcuate manner to 'form a handle, or hook generally designated at 18. This type of construction serves the dual function of greatly facilitating storage of the clothes rack, as explained below, and provides a more extensive surface for attaching the iingers 14 to rod 13. As shown in IFig. l, rod 13 is mounted so that it is angled obliquely upward and rod 15 is provided With a plurality of evenly spaced notches 19. In this type of mounting a very secure wedging of the rod 13 against wall 12 is obtained and the notches 19 serve to hold clothes hangers Zit rmly in position. Also, the oblique positioning of the rod enables one -to observe readily the types of garments being dried. It is apparent, however, that rod 13 would wedge against wall 12 in a horizontal position provided the distance between the inside of finger 14, mounted `on rod 11, and wall 12, just equaled the horizontal distance between the wall 12 and rod 11. Under `such circumstances the notches would be unnecessary and the clothes hangers -19 once positioned on rod 1`5 would remain positioned thereon. Also, it is apparent that rod 15 would be unnecessary where rod 11 is positioned at a convenient height above the floor.

Although rack 10 is shown installed between a rod l'11 and a wall 12, such as would be the case where a tub is used for both a shower and a tub bath, it will be apparent that the rack can be mounted between any rigid member remote from a wall and the wall, such as between a wall and a rod for a built-in shower, or between a wall and the top of -a shower stall, or between a wall i and a glass `shield for a bath tub provided with a shower.

Fig. 2 shows a somewhat less advantageous embodiment of the invention in which rod 13a is provided with a single finger 14, but adjustably positioned, yas shown at 21, so that rack lita can be mounted on supporting members spaced at different distances from a supporting wall. This design is somewhat more complicated both from the point of view of production and use.

Fig. `3 shows a rack 10, such as shown in Fig, 1, collapsed and stored by being suspended from a curtain rod.

11 by handle 18. In this way, the rack occupies unused space and may be hidden behind the shower curtain.

Fig. 4 shows rod 13b iiexibly connected to rod 15b through a rigid, but hinged, rectilinear bar 16. Of course, other liexible members such as cords could be used, but chains are preferred for they are strong and have a long life.

Fig. 5 shows a rack 10c retaining all the functional advantages of the rack shown in Fig. 1 but, in addition, certain advantages are obtained in fabricating some of the elements of this rack. For instance, rod 13o can be fabricated from a single circular rod by forming appropriate bends 22 therein. These bends 22 can advantageously have their center lines an extension of the straight portions of the rod 13e so that the rod 15C may be used in the shown position by positioning -any of the upper bends 22 over a curtain rod 23 or used, after rotation through 180, by positioning either of the lower bends 22 over an appropriately positioned curtain rod 23, or other rigid supporting member. Bends 22 should be shaped to have a slight .reverse curvature so that when n use turning on rod 23 will be difficult. Where desirable, the whole rod 13a` may have bends in it or the end containing the bends may be separately formed and thereafter litted into a straight segment. In this embodiment of my invention, the exible suspending means 16C should be rotatably attached to rod 13C as by wraparound nylon cord, but its linear movement along the rod should be restricted. As shown, `the chains 16 are attached to collars 24 positioned between two raised sections 25 of the rod 13. Also, as shown, the lower rod 15e is fabricated from a single piece of circular rod material by sharply bending it into a series of depressions 19 which serve to hold coat hangers in a xed position thereon.

For various reasons, I prefer to use metallic rods in the clothes racks of this invention. Aluminum, due to its physical properties and its relative cheapness has proven particularly advantageous. For example, in the illustrative embodiment of the invention described above bars 13 and 15 and depending fingers 14 are all made of aluminum. Yet it will be understood that the rods can be m-ade from other non-corrosive metals or some or all of these elements may be molded from resinous molding materials. Where resin bars are used, protective tips may not be necessary. In the particular embodiments illustrated I have shown round rectangular rods, but the rods may be square, or any other desired shape.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the clothes racks described above accomplish the 0bjectives of the invention, but it will be understood that the specic embodiments disclosed are representative embodiments of the invention and that various modiiications can be made in the disclosed details without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A dryer rack adapted to be positioned between a Wall and a rigid supporting member spaced from the wall, comprising a rod adapted for mounting over and engaging said member, said rod having one end for frictional engagement with a wall, -a plurality of downwardly extending members near the other end of the rod for adjustable engagement with the rigid `supporting member, one of said members permitting engaging said rigid member and wedging said rod obliquely upward between said wall and said rigid member and a handle constituting said other end of the rod.

2. A dryer rack adapted to be positioned between a wall and rigid supporting members spaced from the wall, comprising a unitary rod adapted for mounting over and engaging a rigid supporting member, said rod having one end for frictional engagement with the wall, a plurality of downwardly extending bends in the rods near the other end for engagement with rigid supporting members spaced at diierent distances from the wall, one of said bends permitting engaging a rigid supporting member and vwedging said rod obliquely upward between said wall and said rigid member and a handle constituting said other end of the rod.

3. A dryer rack adapted to be positioned between a wall and rigid supporting members spaced from the wall, comprising a rod adapted for mounting over and engaging a rigid supporting member, said rod having a bumper at one end for frictionally engaging the wall and a plurality of downwardly depending members at the other end of the rod -for adjustable engagement with rigid supporting members spaced at diiierent distances from a wall, one of said depending members permitting engaging a rigid supporting member and wedging said rod obliquely upward between said wall and said rigid member.

4. A dryer rack adapted to be positioned between a wall and a rigid supporting member spaced from the wall, comprising a rod adapted for mounting over and engaging said member, said rod having one end for frictional engagement with a wall, an adjustably positioned downwardly depending member near the other end of -the rod for adjustable engagement with the rigid supporting member, one of said adjustable engagements permitting engagement with said rigid supporting member and wedging said rod obliquely upward between said wall and said rigid member and a handle constituting said other end of the rod.

5. A dryer rack adapted to be positioned between a wall and a rigid supporting member spaced from the wall, comprising a rst rod adapted for mounting over and engaging said member, said rod having one end for frictionally engaging the wall, a plurality of downwardly depending means near the other end of the rod for engagement with a rigid supporting member at various adjusted positions, one of said means permitting engaging said rigid member and wedging said rod obliquely upward between said rigid member and said Wall and a second rod flexibly and adjustably depending from said rst rod.

6. A dryer rack adapted to be positioned between a wall and a rigid supporting member spaced from the wall, comprising a first rod adapted for mounting over and engaging said member, said rod having one end for frictionally engaging a wall, a plurality of downwardly depending means near the other end of the rod for engagement with a rigid supporting member at various adjusted positions, one of said means permitting engaging said rigid member and wedging said rod obliquely upward between said rigid member and said wall and a second rod `flexibly depending from said first rod provided with means for positioning clothes hangers therealong.

7. A dryer rack adapted to be positioned between a wall and a rigid supporting member spaced from the wall, comprising a rst rod adapted for mounting over and engaging said member, said rod -having one end for frictionally engaging a wall, a plurality of downwardly depending means near the other end of the rst rod for engagement with a rigid supporting member at various adjusted positions, one of said means permitting engaging said rigid member and wedging said rod obliquely upward between said rigid member and said wall and a handle constituting said otherend; and a second rod flexibly suspended from said lirst rod between said one end and said plurality of means.

8. A dryer rack adapted to be positioned between a wall and a rigid supporting member spaced from the wall, comprising a rod adapted for mounting over and engaging said member, said rod having one end for frictional engagement with a wall and the other end constituting a handle, a downwardly depending member near said other end of the rod for adjustable engagement with the References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Whitney Feb. 17, 1931 6 Knoblock Nov. 2, 1948Y Hermsmeyer Sept. 12, 1950 Seidler Nov. 7, 1950 Fogg May 26, 1953 Fitzkee Aug. 9, 1955 Golden May 22, 1956 Hammer Aug. 27, 1957 

